Ron Paul To Everyone But Mitt: Drop Out

[slim 1,530]

Gingrich would destroy Obama at the debates.

But he's got a bad case of the cray-cray and the big money boys don't think he can be trusted.

That and he believes the federal government should trample on our rights.

[^_^ 5,021]

That and he believes the federal government should trample on our rights.

minor inconsequential detail.

Edited January 11, 2012 by \

[SMR 368]

Gingrich would destroy Obama at the debates.

But he's got a bad case of the cray-cray and the big money boys don't think he can be trusted.

I don't know about the big money boys, but there is a reason why Gingrich was railroaded out of Washington in the 90's. It just took people a while to remember it. He's conceited, spiteful, vindictive, and his (current) wife's name is Callista. He'll not get elected. But you're right he is decent in a debate.

[slim 1,530]

minor inconsequential detail.

For RINOs, anyway.

I don't know about the big money boys, but there is a reason why Gingrich was railroaded out of Washington in the 90's. It just took people a while to remember it. He's conceited, spiteful, vindictive, and his (current) wife's name is Callista. He'll not get elected. But you're right he is decent in a debate.

He's the only true Republican on the stage.

[웃 910]

Gingrich would destroy Obama at the debates.

But he's got a bad case of the cray-cray and the big money boys don't think he can be trusted.

Obama would PWN Nude GrinchGrinch.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I don't know about the big money boys, but there is a reason why Gingrich was railroaded out of Washington in the 90's. It just took people a while to remember it. He's conceited, spiteful, vindictive, and his (current) wife's name is Callista. He'll not get elected. But you're right he is decent in a debate.

It was the Democrats, in the guise of Minority Leader David Bonior, that did to Gingrich, what Gingrich did to another Speaker, Jim Wright. Of course, this was only made possible in both cases, through the magic of CSPAN.

[SMR 368]

For RINOs, anyway.

He's the only true Republican on the stage.

What's your point? RINO, True Republican, Bla, Bla, Bla. We're talking about who would make the best candidate for President and the best President, not some arbitrary set of criteria as to what a real Republican is. A Republican is someone who is registered in the Republican party. Trying to say that someone isn't a Republican is like saying someone isn't a Yankees fan. Beyond what the person claims to be, the argument is arbitrary, meaningless, and has no practical value.

[luckytxn 2,264]

The Nation: Ron Paul's Peak Moment

by BEN ADLER

Ben Adler reports on Republican and conservative politics and media for The Nation as a Contributing Writer.

The career of Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), just peaked. The 76-year-old congressman never passed much legislation. He lived for this moment when he would bask in the glory of his maximum popularity. After performing surprising well in the Iowa caucuses, Paul has finished second in New Hampshire with 23 percent of the vote.

But it's all downhill from here. The campaign will now head on to Southern states, where Republican voters are more hawkish and socially conservative than those in New Hampshire. The media will lose interest in Paul once Mitt Romney, who won both Iowa and New Hampshire, has the nomination presumptively wrapped up. Paul has said he won't run for re-election to Congress this year, and he's unlikely to run for president again in 2016. His maximum relevance was yesterday.

You'd never know it, though, from the demeanor of Paul and the majority of his supporters. At Paul's election night celebration Tuesday night in Manchester, New Hampshire, he addressed a crowd that was younger, longer-haired and noticeably more boisterous than those drawn by his competitors at their recent campaign events. Where other candidates' supporters have only cheers that reflect their candidate preference—"Mitt, Mitt, Mitt"—Paul's have cheers for all his major platform planks. Whenever Paul hit the appropriate line in his speech, the crowd would break into a chant: "End the Fed!" "Bring them [our soldiers] home!" and "Ron Paul revolution, we support our Constitution!"

Paul proudly declared "a victory for the cause of liberty tonight," and promised, "This effort will not go unnoticed." But it probably will. In 2008 Paul performed surprisingly well in the primaries, but the Republican Party has hardly adopted his platform. Most of his opponents are as hawkish as George W. Bush. The only movement towards Paul's position on one of his hobbyhorses is the mainstreaming of demonizing the Federal Reserve and fretting about the "soundness" of our money. But that's only because there's a Democrat in the White House and the Fed—which incidentally is still run by Bush appointee Ben Bernanke—taking action to boost the economy, could damage a Republican's chances of winning the presidency. As soon as there is a Republican president, Republicans will rediscover the virtues of goosing the monetary supply when a recession hits.

The distinction among Paul supporters seems to often—though, of course, not always—break down along generational lines. Older Paul supporters, presumably lifelong Republicans and staunch fiscal conservatives, are typically willing to support Romney if he is the Republican nominee. In fact, many say Romney is their second choice among the Republicans.

State Senator Tom Deblois is a Romney supporter, but his business partners support Paul, so he was at Paul's celebration. Deblois's partners said Romney would be an acceptable substitute. "I think [Paul's] reached his peak support," said Steve Matthew. Matthew thinks concerns about Paul's electability and foreign policy will make it hard for Paul to perform as well as he did here as the primaries continue. "There are a lot of people who won't support him because of his age, worry about whether he can win, and his foreign policy," said Matthew. "Although I agree with him on foreign policy, a lot of people don't." Matthew disagrees with Romney's foreign policy proposals, such as spending more on the military, and he disapproves of Romney's healthcare reform in Massachusetts. But he thinks Obama is "killing small business," through regulations such as Dodd-Frank, rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and healthcare reform.

Younger Paul supporters who strongly support his foreign policy views are more apt to say that other Republicans are simply unacceptable. Some of the younger attendees Tuesday night said they would vote for Obama or for Gary Johnson, a libertarian running as a third-party candidate since he dropped out of the Republican primary. Ryan Howard-Stone, 19, who stood outside a Concord polling station all day holidng a sign for Paul, said he would vote for Johnson if Paul is not the nominee. Stephanie Leary, another young Paul supporter, said she wasn't sure if she could vote for another Republican, although, "I could live with Romney more than Santorum or Gingrich." Leary is gay, and she is troubled by Santorum's and Gingrich's histories of homophobia and their warmongering towards Iran. Robin Spielberger, a young Paul volunteer who came up to New Hampshire from Memphis, Tennessee, said she would write in Paul if he is not the Republican nominee. She summed up the standard view of Paul's young supporters when she said, "I'm not voting for the lesser evil."

Paul is likely to seek policy promises from the GOP nominee in exchange for his endorsement. When I asked Paul's campaign manager Jesse Benton on Saturday night if Paul would endorse the Republican nominee, Benton said, "That's not a definite. We'll have to have a conversation about that. We're open to a discussion. It depends on who the nominee is and it depends what they say." No Republican nominee would be well advised to offer Paul too much in the way of policy concessions, as the endorsement won't be terribly valuable. As you would expect from a group that is largely young and libertarian-leaning, Paul supporters are an ornery bunch, not likely to vote for anyone because someone else tells them to do so. Even some who might reluctantly vote for Romney themselves told me they would view Paul's endorsing Romney as a betrayal. "After 30 years of standing for his principles, why would he abandon them?" demanded Shelly Temple, a Paul voter who attended his party on Tuesday.

If Paul wants to be remembered by his adoring young fans as the hero they believed in, he'll fight to the bitter end and never make a compromise. But tonight is the beginning of the end for Paul.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Ron Paul shrugs off electability concerns

(CBS News)

After a second-place finish in New Hampshire's Republican primary Tuesday, Texas Rep. Ron Paul dismissed concerns that he's not a candidate that conservatives can coalesce around to take on frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Romney handily won the Granite State by a margin of tens of thousands of votes over Paul, but the Texas congressman, who finished third in last week's Iowa caucuses, showed no sign of backing down as the nomination race heads to South Carolina.

"I've been electable," said Paul. "I've won 12 elections already, and we're doing quite well now. It's amazing that I do so much better than those other candidates that are all electable. They're all in fourth, fifth and sixth place, but they're all electable, but I come in second or third, and all of the sudden people say, 'Oh, he's not electable.' I don't know how that adds up."

[SMR 368]

Ron Paul shrugs off electability concerns

(CBS News)

After a second-place finish in New Hampshire's Republican primary Tuesday, Texas Rep. Ron Paul dismissed concerns that he's not a candidate that conservatives can coalesce around to take on frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Romney handily won the Granite State by a margin of tens of thousands of votes over Paul, but the Texas congressman, who finished third in last week's Iowa caucuses, showed no sign of backing down as the nomination race heads to South Carolina.

"I've been electable," said Paul. "I've won 12 elections already, and we're doing quite well now. It's amazing that I do so much better than those other candidates that are all electable. They're all in fourth, fifth and sixth place, but they're all electable, but I come in second or third, and all of the sudden people say, 'Oh, he's not electable.' I don't know how that adds up."

It's true that polling shows that Paul is the second most electable Republican. But he's still sitting well behind Romney.

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What's your point? RINO, True Republican, Bla, Bla, Bla. We're talking about who would make the best candidate for President and the best President, not some arbitrary set of criteria as to what a real Republican is. A Republican is someone who is registered in the Republican party. Trying to say that someone isn't a Republican is like saying someone isn't a Yankees fan. Beyond what the person claims to be, the argument is arbitrary, meaningless, and has no practical value.

That's like people talking about who can beat Obama instead of talking about a candidate that fits their set of values. "Well, I would vote for Paul but I don't think he can beat Obama. So, I'll be voting for Romney because he can win." Nevermind the fact their platforms couldn't be more different.

The problem with most voters (R, D, or "other") is they want to be on the winning team instead of supporting a candidate that will represent their values. Until that changes, we're doomed to more of the same.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

That's like people talking about who can beat Obama instead of talking about a candidate that fits their set of values. "Well, I would vote for Paul but I don't think he can beat Obama. So, I'll be voting for Romney because he can win." Nevermind the fact their platforms couldn't be more different.

The problem with most voters (R, D, or "other") is they want to be on the winning team instead of supporting a candidate that will represent their values. Until that changes, we're doomed to more of the same.

"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone." - John Quincy Adams

[웃 910]

"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone." - John Quincy Adams

"Always stand on principle, even it means letting the American banking system collapse destroying the entire economy overnight" - Libertarian Wingnuts

Edited January 11, 2012 by ☠

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Nation: Ron Paul's Peak Moment

by BEN ADLER

The career of Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), just peaked. But it's all downhill from here. His maximum relevance was yesterday.

Paul proudly ... promised, "This effort will not go unnoticed." But it probably will.

But tonight is the beginning of the end for Paul.

All true.

Edited January 11, 2012 by Mr. Big Dog

[slim 1,530]

"Always stand on principle, even it means letting the American banking system collapse destroying the entire economy overnight" - Libertarian Wingnuts

The banking system could collapse and we'd be just fine.

All true.

ORLY?